Danganronpa: Digital Daze

Feeling a surge of dread, I decided to leave the Carnival Room, and make an attempt to figure out who may have taken the Taser. I wasn't too worried about the gloves or the night vision goggles, but seeing the Taser was gone really concerned me.

I decided to head down to the Dining Hall for lunch, as it was close to noon already. I wanted to see if I could make a traditional Japanese lunch of some sort. I wasn't sure exactly what I wanted yet, but I knew I wanted to try something familiar.

However, I walked into a three-way argument between Kaito, Kenchikka, and Celeste.

"What do you mean, we should wait?" Kaito said to Kenchikka, incredulously.

"Like I said from beginning, need plan. Poor time to be reckless," Kenchikka responded, her hands on her hips.

"This again, with the plan crap? Are you for real?" Kaito shot back.

"As real as her hair color, one would wager," Celeste chided.

Kaito looked at Celeste strangely. "Huh? What do you mean?"

Kenchikka looked over at Kaito, annoyed. "Seriously? Mother Japanese. Father Dominican. Think I have natural blonde hair?"

Kaito looked astonished at this revelation. "Wait, you're NOT a natural blonde?"

Kenchikka sighed, exasperated. "My hair color, as real as Celeste's drills. Clear now?"

Celeste's eyes went wide at this remark, but she said nothing.

I made myself some lunch, deciding to go with a Korean BBQ Burger with some Kimchi. I get the meat prepared, and start working on the Korean BBQ Sauce and the Kimchi.

While I work, Theo pops his head in the Kitchen doorway.

"Good day, Bera! I trust all is well?" Theo greets me.

I nod. "Yeah, so far so good."

Theo nods. "Chihiro was looking for you. Kenchikka said the last time she saw you was in the Kitchen, so I wanted to check in, make sure you were alright."

Wait... Chihiro wanted me? For what?

While I contemplated that question, Theo offered to help me with making my lunch, stating that Korean food might just hit the spot for him as well.

We spent the next 15 to 20 minutes making our lunches together, with Theo mentioning certain properties of Korean food. I didn't really have much to add, so I just focused on making lunch and let Theo talk.

After we finished cooking and cleaned our bowls and other utensils, we sat down together to eat.

Theo instantly picked up that something was troubling me.

"Good sir, what seems to be the problem lately?" he asked.

"Well, I was in the Carnival Room earlier with Chiaki and Mukuro, and as I left, I noticed some items had been purchased from the Prize Counter. A Taser, the long rubber gloves, and the night vision goggles are all gone," I responded nervously.

Theo's face became contemplative. "Ah, yes, I see. So you're concerned that another murder may take place soon, is that correct?"

I nodded, taking another bite of my Korean BBQ Burger.

"Well, while I cannot speak on behalf of the Taser or gloves, I do know who has the night vision goggles," Theo replied. "I do."

My eyes went wide. "Wait, YOU have the night vision goggles?!"

Theo lowered his glasses at me. "Good sir, please keep it down. But yes, the goggles are in my possession. I have a plan in mind to get us all out of here, but I must execute it at the proper time. Unfortunately, that proper time is not now, but those goggles will be crucial for me."

So, Theo has the Night Vision Goggles, but doesn't know who has the rubber gloves or the Taser. This didn't make me any more comfortable.

Adding to my distress, Monorakun wandered into the Dining Hall, then sat on his haunches as he looked at us.

"Ah, the shemale and the mystery guest! How are you two doing?" Monorakun responded.

I glared at Monorakun, the insult cutting me deep, but I didn't want him to see that.

"What do you want?" I shot back.

To my complete confusion, Monorakun started clapping. "Hey, just wanted to say Kudos on your little stunt this morning. We made a real killing off of that! You should do it more often."

Theo glanced over at me. "Has the robotic raccoon gone mad?"

Shaking Theo off, I replied back to Monorakun's remarks. "What do you mean, made a killing? Nobody's died today."

Monorakun chuckled. "Yeah, true, but that's not the only way to make a killing, you know."

Theo pondered this for several moments, before speaking up. "Since no one has died, do you mean, perhaps, a financial windfall instead?"

Monorakun nods. "Bingo, Titus! While I'm not interesting in sharing the details, we had some serious bets roll in, due to Bera's antics this morning. And in the end, we took all those losing bets and banked 'em! Heh heh heh hee heeeeee!"

Moments later, Kenchikka returned, carrying an empty plate and a fork.

"Why is Asshole Raccoon laughing now? Finally short-circuit?" Kenchikka asked snarkily.

"Oh, my favorite Full Metal Architect! No, I haven't short-circuited, and even if I did, another would take my place."

"Of course it would. That's why Asshole Raccoon not in incinerator yet. Would be satisfying, true, but accomplish nothing long-term."

Monorakun chuckled. "Don't threaten me with a good time, KK-800," he retorts, and then considers. "That might be too obscure a reference, but at least I didn't ask for your clothes, your boots, and your motorcycle. I'll be back."

Monorakun scurried on all fours out of the Dining Hall, with Kenchikka looking as if she was contemplating punting Monorakun down the hall, her foot pulled back before she wisely changed her mind.

"Anyway, returning dishes. Wash them myself, then put them away, head up to Spa Room. Headaches returning, figure return to dorm room, take nap, sometimes helps."

Theo responds, concerned. "Do let us know if you need anything, ok lass?"

Kenchikka nodded slowly. "Will do. For now, am fine. Can manage."

After Kenchikka put her dishes away. Theo and I finished eating lunch together. We talked together until about 1:15pm about various topics: his past, my surgery in San Francisco, and Hormone Replacement Therapy I took once a week, on Tuesdays. With today being Monday, September 7th, I would have to take the shot again tomorrow.

Eventually, we wrapped up our conversation. Theo departed for his dorm room, and I decided to go see what Chihiro wanted earlier. I went up to his Dorm Room and knocked. After a few moments, Chihiro opened the door and let me in.

"Hi, Bera!" Chihiro greeted me as he let me in, closing the door behind me. "I have some updates for you."

I took a seat on the edge of Chihiro's bed. "Yeah? What's up?"

Chihiro took a deep breath. "Well, I have two updates, really. One's about Alter Ego, and the other is about that mysterious person controlling Monorakun, 未来. Which do you want to hear first?"

I thought about it, then decided to hear about 未来 first.

"Well," Chihiro began. "I made contact with them once more, last night. They agreed to answer one more "yes or no" question, on the grounds that I never contact him again, that our deal was off once the Ultimate Infiltrator tried to kill us all."

I nodded. "Ok, and what did you ask?"

Chihiro pondered. "Well, I was trying to figure out reasons why we're still trapped here, instead of worrying about who 未来 is. I finally asked them if there was any financial gain for them, for us being here. He answered yes, then I received a message stating that I was blocked."

So, we're trapped here, and there's a financial gain to be had for us being trapped here?

"Ok, so that's an important piece of this puzzle. Thanks, Chihiro. Now, what about Alter Ego?"

Chihiro smiled. "Alter Ego was able to pull some data about three hours ago. I'm still sorting through it all, but it seems like there's a betting ring tied to this place. Hundreds, even thousands of dollars are being won and lost based on what happens here, with us."

My eyes went wide. "Wait a minute. People are not only watching us, live, but betting on us?"

Chihiro shrugged. "It seems that way, but I haven't processed all the data yet, so I can't be for sure. But I think so."

"Hey, while I'm thinking of it," I add. "You remember the Carnival Room, right?"

Chihiro smiled. "Yeah! That room is so much fun!"

"The Taser, the long rubber gloves, and the night vision goggles are missing," I worriedly inform Chihiro, who looked both alarmed and somewhat scared.

"Well, there could be any number of reasons for the gloves, but why the night vision goggles? We don't have any blackouts here," Chihiro pondered.

"I'm more worried about the taser. It had a detachable function where it could still be used in a melee function, even after the heavy-duty prongs hit somebody else from up to 35 feet away."

Chihiro nodded, then froze for a moment, as if remembering something.

"I remember looking up info on that Taser via Alter Ego. It seems that several years ago, that particular model was recalled, due to the pulsing function malfunctioning on it. It was delivering a steady stream of volts into the victim, instead of cutting itself off, charging up the next shock, and delivering the volts in very short pulses like they're supposed to. If someone has that taser, then -"

We were cut off by an announcement from Monorakun. "Alright, shitbags, we've got a two-for-one special in the Spa Room. Buy one dead body, get another one free! Prices and participation will NOT vary, however. Get up here, now!"

Chihiro's eyes went wider than I had ever seen them. I glanced at the time

We bolted out of his dorm room and ran up the flights of stairs to the Spa Room, meeting with Theo on the way up. All of us were wracked with concern.

Finally, we arrived at the Spa Room, and looked inside.

Makoto and Mukuro were in the tubs. Makoto had two small pieces of metal in his chest, near his heart. There was a wire coming off of each of them, ending in the water. Makoto's eyes were bloodshot, staring wide open at us from the hot tub.

Mukuro, however, was face-down in the cold tub, unmoving, with her feet and lower legs sticking out. Kaito was pulling her out of the water with Leon's help.

"Yo! What's this mark on her neck?" Leon asked. "Looks like a small burn or something."

Chihiro and I exchanged glances, standing at the scene of a double murder.

Makoto and Mukuro were both dead, and one of us killed them.

But who? Or... Whom?